1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to shelving designs which may be adapted for use with refrigerators and other articles employing shelving and, more particularly, refrigerator shelving and baskets having the capability of obtaining full extension from a rested position without interference from conventional refrigerator doors.
2. Background Art
Previous types of shelving have been developed for use as refrigerator and other shelves. In designing refrigerator shelving, it is important to provide a means for permitting selected movement of the shelf within the refrigerator, in addition to providing adequate support for the shelf.
Numerous shelving designs exist in the prior art. For example, Kane, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,809, issued Oct. 14, 1996, discloses an encapsulated shelf assembly with a shelf support supporting a panel. The panel has an edge and a one-piece member encapsulating the panel edge and a substantial majority of the shelf support. The shelf assembly may be formed in a mold apparatus which defines a mold cavity and uses a spacing plug to position the shelf support in a mold cavity of the apparatus in a location spaced from the sides of the mold cavity.
Herrmann, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,589, issued Apr. 7, 1998, discloses a shelf assembly for a refrigerator compartment which includes a member slidably supported for extension and retraction on a support. The shelf member includes slide members which are preferably molded as a rim on an article support surface. A guide member extends from at least one, and preferably both, of the side members to guide the sliding movement. A stop on the guide member limits travel by engaging a limit surface on the shelf support.
Bird, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,638, issued Oct. 3, 1995, discloses adjustable refrigerator shelving having a shelf rail for supporting a partial width shelf within a refrigerator compartment on first and second, spaced shelf racks vertically oriented in the compartment. The tracks releasably engage with a number of support brackets for cantilever support of one or more shelves at a plurality of vertically spaced locations. The shelf rail includes rearwardly projecting hooks at each of the two opposing ends for releasable engagement with the shelf tracks. Locking tabs are included on the hooks to retain the shelf rails on the track, while a rub strip is provided between the partial shelf and the shelf rail, along a top edge of the shelf rail.
Bird, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,433, issued Jul. 4, 1995, describes a refrigerator shelf which is adapted for containment of spills on the shelf. The shelf includes a planer shelf member with a rim molded around the perimeter edge of the shelf member to form a liquid tight seal between the rim and the shelf member. The molded rim projects above the top surface of the shelf member to form a liquid dam for containing spills on the shelf member. In one embodiment, the shelf is slidably mounted to allow horizontal extension of the shelf, with access to the rear portion of the shelf using slide guides molded into the rim along each side of the shelf. The shelf is cantilevered upon support brackets from the rear wall of a refrigerator to allow air flow around the shelf sides. The support brackets are adapted to support the shelf at a plurality of vertical positions.
Meier, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,720, issued Sep. 19, 2000, discloses a method of manufacturing a glass shelf with a plastic edge. The glass panel is placed on a cavity of a mold with a peripheral edge of the cavity corresponding to the peripheral edge of the glass panel. The cavity has side cavity portions, each housing one of the shelf brackets. Plastic material is injected into the cavity adjacent corners, so that the forces of the injected material are essentially self balancing around the peripheral edge of the glass panel. In this manner, the glass panel is maintained in a substantially mating conformity with the cavity to produce a relatively consistently contoured frame.
The foregoing is merely a sample of the various types of prior art references which currently exist with respect to refrigerator shelving.
Certain problems particularly exist with any type of refrigerator shelving or baskets which are intended to be extended from a fully retracted position to an extended position. When attempting to obtain full extension of shelving and baskets within a refrigerator compartment, it is common that features on the refrigerator door will not allow the shelving or baskets to obtain full extension from the rested position. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have shelving and basket configurations which are designed so as to be fully extendable and eliminate the need to make changes to refrigerator door features that currently prohibit shelving or baskets from sliding to a fully extended position.